July Swamp Tours are off with a Bang!

What a great holiday we had!

Everyone was so warm and appreciative of my guide service and our shared experience of family fun and adventure filled trips into the wilderness of Lake Martin.



It started on Friday, July 2nd at 6pm with a sunset tour. That tour was coming to an end with the sunset shot above. Then we crossed the lake to take the photo below of the same sunset with a different set of trees about 10 minutes later.



Saturday, July 3rd we started at 6:30am and I caught this image below of a dragonfly floating on the water, right out in front of the boat landing.



In the photo below, I was so touched by the little girl in the life preserver singing about Jesus's love for her and all the little children of the world.




In the background of the photo below, you can see a giant Bald Cypress, six feet in diameter.



In the photos below after the cypress forest and the bayou, we moved across the lake to take in the beauty of the American Lotus, which are in full bloom all summer long.









In the photo below, July 4th fireworks at my friend Ed's house in Carencro. Ed is the manager of the Holiday Inn Holidome convention center in Lafayette. He always invites my daughter and I for New Years and July 4th fireworks. We light up the sky and always eat too much because it is soooo good!



This is my daughter, Christina, in the photo above, showing off her cool new hair style for this summer.

Monday July 5th, we started with another gorgeous day at sunrise with a family from Joplin, Missouri and came upon these images below of a Redwing Blackbird nesting.






At the end of the tour the great looking clouds in the photo below foretold of what was on the way later that day.



Unfortunately later that day, the family from Alaska in the photo below, got a great start for our sunset tour, but the drought broke about an hour into it and we cut it short and headed in, in the rain.



It was a gorgeous image in the bayou with the rain falling, but I didn't dare pull out my digital camera and risk water damage.

In spite of our being rained out, in the end, I was given a generous tip for entertaining my guests with Boudreaux and Thibodeaux jokes while we got soaking wet in the bayou. I wish I had a waterproof camera.

Anyway, we here in south Louisiana all breathed a sigh of relief for a brief respite from the drought of last month.

On Wednesday, July 8th, I took out a couple from Denmark who were trying desperately to get on a tour at the last minute.

In the photo below, we had a fine time with my Catahoula dog Jesse(who is a son of Bob).



And his 12 week old son, Gus in the photo above.

There were so many interesting things to photograph, such as the butterfly that landed on the boat in the photo below.



And... a wasp, that crash landed and was fluttering on the water below.



Also, a bagworm hanging from a cypress branch, in the two images below.




In the bayou, we came upon my good friend Butch Gauchereaux, owner and operator of Cajun Country Swamp Tours at Lake Martin.


In the image above, Butch is teaching about the importance of duckweed in the ecology of the swamp. He is well respected and knowledgeable, having a degree in botany and zoology.

And then he went to the alligator nest we had just visited...


The colors in the swamp are vibrant after a good rain, as seen in the images below.






When we got back to the lake there were many gators cruising around as seen below.




We went on to take some incredible sunset photos as seen below.

Family Fun at an Affordable Price

As of late, I am aware that most summer-time vacation travelers are on a budget. Hoping to find good value for their travel dollars many people are shopping around, and on that note I have reduced my rates by 50% to $20/adult, and $15/children and seniors for a 2 hour tour.

I am still getting the world-class travelers like the 2 couples on Tuesday who arrived at Lake Martin and told me that they came all the way from Turkey to do my tour.

At the end of our sunset adventure we came upon the scene in the photo below and I also snapped up the one at the top of this blog.



Reducing my rates caused me to reminisce of the beginning of my career as a tour guide when in 1988, I went full-time and charged $20/person. Like then it isn't about money, it is about people and sharing the things I love with them.

If you treat people right, the word gets around and the money comes. The people who come to me are not regarded or treated as customers or tourists, but as guests. As a representative of the Cajun culture, the state of Louisiana and my business, I hope when my guests leave they feel like they have made a friend and have recieved value for the time and money spent.



Let's celebrate our independence and y'all have a happy 4th of July!

Education and Family Fun in the Swamp!

We were cool for a change yesterday because it was raining on our sunset tour. No one complained because it felt good after the 100' temperatures of the last month.


Right after explaining that there would be no problem with mosquitos, we came upon the dragonflies in the photo below and I pointed out the abundance of "mosquito-hawks" as they are known locally.



Next we followed my road into a grove of virgin cypress in the background of the photo below.



We had fun in the bayou when a cricket frog jumped on the boat in the photo below.



As we came out of the bayou on our way back to the lake in the photo below, we noticed an unusually heavy fog for this time of the year.



Upon entering the lake I realized the fog reminded me of a winter-time scenario when cold fronts bring cool air over warm water and a low lying, wind driven fog hangs over the surface of this beautiful wetland forest.



As we approached the landing to wrap up our educational and entertaining adventure I stopped the motor so we could hear the song of the Purple Martins as seen in the photo below, who are also like dragonflies, voracious consumers of mosquitos.



The last half hour of the tour was the only part that didn't drizzle on us, and we all felt rewarded for our perseverance in spite of the light precipatation. It could have been worse; we could have been soaked with perspiration!

Maybe at the end of the next tour, I can get that picture I have promised of me swimming with the gators!